Device for discouraging thumb sucking



y 30, 1940. F. G. TIEDEMANN 2,209,860

DEVICE FOR DISCOURAGIIIG THUMB SUCKING Filed Nov. 26, 193

Patented July 30, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ING Frank G. Tiedemann, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application November 26, 1937, Serial No. 176,427

1 Claim.

My invention relates to habit-corrective appliances and particularly to a device for discouraging the habit of finger-sucking.

Many babies and small children develop the habit of sucking a finger and it is usually very difficult to eliminate such a habit. Various devices and methods have been devised for the intended purpose of discouraging the finger-sucking habit but, in most instances, have failed to produce the desired result.

The general object of my invention is to provide an appliance capable of use to effectively discourage the habit of finger-sucking.

A more specific object is to provide such an appliance which will prevent the building up of suction or partial vacuum in the mouth of a child sucking its finger by preventing the formation of an air-tight seal between the childs lips and finger.

Another object is to provide such an appliance including an elongated element and means for attaching such an element to a finger in substantially parallel relation therewith.

A further object is to provide such an appliance of light, simple, compact and inexpensive construction and arranged to substantially eliminate the possibility of causing injury to a wearer thereof.

These and other objects and advantages of the I invention will be more fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views, and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of my appliance operatively associated with a finger outlined in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the appliance drawn to enlarged scale; and 40 Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2 as indicated by the arrows.

My device or appliance includes an elongated element 4 adapted to be secured to a finger, such as the finger F of Figure 1, in generally parallel relation thereto. While the element 4 may be of solid construction and in such case will accomplish the desired result, I prefer that the same be made in tubular form as illustrated.- Preferably the end portions of the tubular element 4 are formed into partially spherical elements 4a so that the ends of the tube 4 will be rounded in form rather than sharp.

The tubular element 4 may be secured to a finger by suitable means, and I have illustrated a particular effective and convenient means. As

shown in the drawing, my securing means for the element 4 includes an arcuate member 5 adapted to be placed upon a finger, as shown, and being curved tosubstantially fit the circumferential shape of a finger. For attachment of the element 4 to the arcuate member or base plate 5, I prefer to use brackets 6 which connect longitudinally spaced points on the element 4- to corresponding spaced points on the base plate 5 so that the tubular element 4- will be spaced from the bast plate 5 by a relatively small distance.

The base plate 5 may be secured to a finger such as the finger F by any suitable means but I prefer to utilize means snugly encircling the finger F and extending through the space Ba defined by the brackets 6, the tubular element 4, and the base plate 5. In Fig. 1 I have shown suitable finger encircling securing means I which may consist of adhesive tape or the like.

By passing the securing means 1 through the opening 6a of the device, detachment of the device from the securing means I is prevented, thus eliminating the possibility of removal of the device from the finger or the device becoming lodged in the throat of a child on whose finger the device has been applied.

My appliance described above prevents a child having the finger sucking habit from producing suction or a partial vacuum in his mouth when attempting to suck a finger to which my appliance has been applied. The prevention of suction or vacuum is obtained by preventing the formation of an air-tight seal between the childs lips and finger. When the child attempts to suck on the finger, air will pass into the childs mouth in the space around the element 4, and when the element 4 is of tubular construction, air will pass into the childs mouth through the interior of the element 4.

My device has been built and put to practical use and in such practical use has been found very effective in discouraging a childs fingersucking habit.

It is apparent that I have invented a novel, simple, light, compact, and inexpensive appliance capable of effectively discouraging the fingersucking habit and so constructed as to enable reliable securing of the same to a childs finger, and substantially eliminate the possibility of injury to the child through use of the device.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, proportions and arrangements of the parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

A thumb sucking preventer comprising, an arcuately bent plate adapted to be placed upon a thumb in the manner of a saddle, a pair of outwardly projecting posts carried by said plate and spaced apart in a direction parallel to the axis about which said plate is curved, and a tubular element disposed generally parallel to said direction and mounted on the free ends of said posts whereby said posts and portions of said plate and said tubular element comprise a loop through which thumb-encircling binding means may be extended.

FRANK G. TIEDEMANN. 

